Paranormal Power: Magic chance to beat the sceptic

British Association: Predisposition to social problems inherited; orgasms aid fertility; and `phantom limb syndrome'

JAMES RANDI, the magician and scourge of the paranormal, has challenged 13 Britons to prove they have supernatural powers and win his prize of $1m (pounds 660,000).

Mr Randi, who has been a constant thorn in the side of Yuri Geller and others who claim extraordinary powers, said that 13 individuals from Britain are competing for the money he has offered to the first person demonstrating paranormal gifts under scientifically controlled conditions.

One man claims to be a human magnet who can pick up paperclips with his forehead, another says he can rewrite the works of Isaac Newton and a third is a woman who claims she can read other people's minds.

Mr Randi, who took part in a session at the British Association on the rise of the paranormal at the end of the millennium, said nobody had been able to convince him scientifically of paranormal powers and he believes his money will be safe. "Geller says he does his spoon bending by divine means. I do it by tricks. If he's doing it by divine means then he's doing it the hard way," Mr Randi added.